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Proposed Regulations Provide Guidance on Significant Aspects of BEAT—But Some Questions Remain Unanswered

Author: David P. Hariton.; Ronald E. Creamer, Jr..; Alexander P. Apostolopoulos.; Minjae (John) Jo.

Source: Volume 36, Number 03, Spring 2019 , pp.3-29(27)

Abstract:

The comprehensive tax reform legislation commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 added Section 59A to the Internal Revenue Code, which imposes the “base erosion and anti-abuse tax” (BEAT) on certain taxpayers making “base eroding” payments to foreign related parties. On December 13, 2018, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service released proposed regulations on BEAT, which, if adopted, would clarify some of the key questions unanswered by the statutory language. The proposals, however, also include a number of surprises and do not provide specific rules on other issues that could have a critical impact on a taxpayer’s ultimate BEAT liability. This article discusses some of the most important issues that were addressed (and not addressed) by the proposed regulations.

Keywords: base erosion and anti-abuse tax, BEAT, tax reform, TCJA, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Affiliations: 1: Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; 2: Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; 3: Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; 4: Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.